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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 11:41 a.m., Tuesday, June 18, 2002

Police Beat

Advertiser Staff

Attempted robbery suspect sought

Police are looking for a man suspected of an attempted robbery last week at the Paradise Jewelry Store in the Ala Moana Hotel.

The masked, armed robber shattered the glass in a store showcase at about 9 p.m. June 10 but fled without taking anything when the noise drew witnesses, police said.

When the store employee had refused his demand for jewelry, police said the man struck the showcase with a screwdriver. Witnesses told police they saw the man in the store hours before the robbery attempt.

Witnesses described the man as in his 30s, of Filipino and Portuguese ancestry, about 5 feet 8, 180 pounds with a medium build and a tan complexion. A tattoo is visible on the back of his neck.

He wore a heavy silver chain and pendant, a dark long-sleeved T-shirt, dark knee-length shorts and a black ski mask.

Tips about this case can be directed to Detective Taro Nakamura, 529-3392, or anonymously to CrimeStoppers, 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.

Brush fire burns half acre at Koke'e

State forestry firefighters were sent today to check for hot spots following a brushfire at Koke'e, a blaze that burned only about a half acre yesterday but took half the day to put out.

The initial alarm sounded at 11:24 a.m., but county firefighters had to cut through brush to reach the location, on the Waimea Canyon side of Kumuela Ridge Road, and didn't arrive until 12:50 p.m.

Navy and commercial helicopter crews assisted county and state forestry firefighters by dropping water on the blaze throughout the day, said county Battalion Chief Ernest Moniz.

The lack of high winds proved a break because the fire could be kept from jumping the ridge road and spreading toward the state park and cabins, said Alvin Kyono, state forestry manager, who said an illegal campfire is the suspected cause.

State firefighters left the area at 8:30 last night and resumed patrols today, he said.

Crews battling Schofield blaze

Military and civilian firefighters continued to fight a stubborn brushfire today in a training range near the base of the Wai'anae Mountains at Schofield Barracks.

The blaze, which had burned 6 acres this morning in the range's impact area, started late Sunday night while soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division (Light) practiced firing 81 mm mortars, said U.S. Army spokeswoman Capt. Stacy Bathrick.

About 50 firefighters, working on the ground and in helicopters with water buckets, were battling the fire, Bathrick said. They had only been able to contain 25 percent of it, however.

The exact cause of the fire is under investigation, she said. All training in the area has been suspended.

Fire destroys shed near Koloa home

Kaua'i firefighters last night extinguished a blaze that destroyed a storage shed near a home in Koloa.

The fire broke out at 8:08 p.m. at 2720 Ho'onani Road, about 300 feet from the Koloa station, officials said. The shed was used to store blankets and sheets for a motel run by the homeowners, and putting out the fire buried within the piles of fabric complicated the work, officials said.

The fire was extinguished at 9:54 p.m. Total damage to the structure and contents was estimated at $30,000.